Cable Companies Announce Common Operating Statistics; Chief Executives Pledge Corporate Support of Initiative.Business Editors NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 21, 2002 The nation's leading cable operators today announced new voluntary guidelines to provide investors with the best possible understanding of metrics metrics Managed care A popular term for standards by which the quality of a product, service, or outcome of a particular form of Pt management is evaluated. See TQM. that are important to company operations. Chief Executive Officers of 11 publicly traded multiple system operators (MSOs) today pledged to support and adhere to adhere to verb 1. follow, keep, maintain, respect, observe, be true, fulfil, obey, heed, keep to, abide by, be loyal, mind, be constant, be faithful 2. the new guidelines. Established with the support of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA NCTA National Cable & Telecommunications Association (fka National Cable Television Association) NCTA National Cable Television Association (now the National Cable & Telecommunications Association) ), the new guidelines seek to provide more consistency in the reporting of operating statistics in capital expenditures and customer relationships. The new guidelines: -- Identify six standard reporting categories for capital expenditures: customer premise equipment (CPE); commercial; scalable infrastructure; line extensions; upgrade/rebuild; and support capital. -- Establish a new definition of customer relationships: "The number of customers that receive at least one level of service, encompassing voice, video, and data services, without regard to which service(s) customers purchase." -- Create a standard definition for revenue generating units (RGUs): "The sum total of all primary analog video, digital video, high-speed data, and telephony customers, not counting additional outlets." "In order to provide more consistency in the reporting of operating statistics in capital expenditures and customer relationships, we pledge to join our peer companies in adhering to standard reporting categories in these areas," says the commitment made today by the MSOs. "We remain committed to providing all of our investors the clearest possible view into our business and financial operations." "We've voluntarily joined together to make our numbers more consistent on a company by company basis," said Michael Willner, Chief Executive Officer of Insight Communications Insight Communications is the ninth largest cable operator in the United States with approximately 1.4 million customer relationships in the four contiguous states of Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. , and Chairman of the Board of Directors of NCTA. "This is a positive development for our industry and our investors, who we believe will gain a clearer picture of our companies through these actions. "The new guidelines are designed as an enhancement to the financial reporting of the companies and will have no impact on continuing corporate adherence to generally accepted accounting principles The standard accounting rules, regulations, and procedures used by companies in maintaining their financial records. Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) provide companies and accountants with a consistent set of guidelines that cover both broad accounting (GAAP GAAP See: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles GAAP See generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). ), which is the responsibility of each publicly held company and its certified public accountants Certified Public Accountant (CPA) An accountant who has met certain standards, including experience, age, and licensing, and passed exams in a particular state. under federal law," Willner added. The publicly traded MSOs, which have pledged to implement the new reporting guidelines no later than the first quarter of 2003, include AT&T Broadband; Time Warner Cable This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. ; Comcast Cable Communications; Charter Communications Charter Communications NASDAQ: CHTR is an American company providing cable television, high-speed Internet, and telephone services to more than 5.7 million customers in 29 states. It is the third-largest publicly traded cable operator in the U.S. ; Cox Communications Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television and telecommunications services in the United States. It is the third-largest[2] cable television provider in the United States, serving more than 6. ; Adelphia Communications; Cablevision Systems Corporation; Mediacom Communications; Insight Communications; CableOne; and General Communications, Inc. (GCI GCI Ground Circuit Interrupter GCI Getty Conservation Institute GCI Global Commerce Initiative GCI Green Cross International (non-profit international environmental organization) GCI Growth Competitiveness Index GCI Great Cities Institute ). Pledge for Cable Common Operating Statistics In order to provide more consistency in the reporting of operating statistics in capital expenditures and customer relationships, we pledge to join our peer companies in adhering to standard reporting categories in these areas. Beginning no later than the first quarter of 2003, we will report on a quarterly basis our capital expenditures and customer relationships under these new guidelines. The standard reporting categories for capital expenditures will include: -- Customer Premise Equipment (CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) Communications equipment that resides on the customer's premises. CPE - Customer Premises Equipment ) -- Commercial -- Scalable Infrastructure -- Line Extensions -- Upgrade/Rebuild -- Support Capital Our standard definition of customer relationships will be, "The number of customers that receive at least one level of service, encompassing voice, video, and data services, without regard to which service(s) customers purchase." Our standard definition of revenue generating units (RGUs) will be, "The sum of all primary analog video The original video recording method that stores continuous waves of red, green and blue intensities. In analog video, the number of rows is fixed. There are no real columns, and the maximum detail is determined by the frequency response of the analog system. , digital video, high-speed data, and telephony customers, not counting additional outlets." We remain committed to providing all of our investors the clearest possible view into our business and financial operations. Accepted this 21st Day of October, 2002, by:
William T. Schleyer, President and CEO, AT&T Broadband
Glenn A. Britt, Chairman and CEO, Time Warner Cable
Brian L. Roberts, President, Comcast Corporation
Carl Vogel, President and CEO, Charter Communications
James O. Robbins, President and CEO, Cox Communication, Inc.
Erland E. Kailbourne, Chairman and Interim CEO, Adelphia
Communications Corp.
James L. Dolan, President and CEO, Cablevision Systems Corporation
Rocco B. Commisso, Chairman and CEO, Mediacom Communications Corp.
Michael S. Willner, President and CEO, Insight Communications
Thomas O. Might, President and CEO, CableONE
Ronald Duncan, President, GCI Cable, Inc.
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